from Nicholas J. Cotsonika and Lisa Dillman of NHL.com,

SHANGHAI -- One day last season, LA Kings defenseman Alec Martinez broke some news to his teammates as one of their NHL Players' Association representatives.

"I remember him saying something like, 'The NHL wants us to go to China,'" goaltender Jeff Zatkoff said. "I think initially everyone was like, 'Man, that's a long ways to go for a couple of games.' But I think once it came out that we were going, everyone was like, 'This is going to be a cool experience.'"

Well, it certainly is a long ways to go for a couple of games.

The Kings took off from L.A. at 2 p.m. on Sunday, flew for 13 1/2 hours and 6,500 miles, and landed in Shanghai at 6:30 p.m. local time Monday. Then they cleared customs and took a bus to their hotel.

They play preseason games against the Vancouver Canucks at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai on Thursday (7:30 a.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports) and Wukesong Arena in Beijing on Saturday (3:30 a.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVA Sports) in the 2017 China Games presented by O.R.G. Packaging.

But as unusual as this might be for an NHL road trip, it isn't that unusual for the coaches and players. Europeans are used to long travel coming to North America. Many North Americans have played internationally. Lots of players have been on buses in juniors and the minors.

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